Chapter 52: Aria's Submission and Selene's Emotional Hold
Aria woke with a choked cry, her sheets tangled between her legs, her skin slick with sweat and something else.
Her heart thudded wildly in her chest.
The echo of Selene's name was still on her lips—moaned into the morning air as if she were still in the dream, still bound by it. Her thighs were clenched, her hips twitching slightly in search of contact. She was soaked.
No.
Not just soaked.
Drenched.
She sat up too quickly, her breath catching, her face burning. Her body throbbed in waves—an aftershock she could still feel pulsing through her core. She pressed her trembling fingers to her lips.
What the hell was that?
Her dream had been…
Vulgar.
Shameless.
She'd never dreamed like that before.
Not even close.
Aria could barely remember all the pieces, but the feelings remained—etched in every nerve ending. She had been naked in Selene's bed. Collared. Marked. Her wrists bound with silk. Selene had hovered above her, all power and poise, feeding her praise with one hand and punishing denial with the other. She hadn't even been allowed to speak at first. Just writhe. Just moan.
And oh god—she had moaned. Loud.
In the dream, Selene had made her beg without touching her. Had made her cry just from the threat of being left undone. Had called her good girl in a low, dark voice that made her whole body lock up and tremble.
And then—then—Selene had touched her.
Not with fingers. Not with a toy.
Just her tongue.
One slow, devastating lick.
And Aria had come so hard in her sleep she woke up moaning.
Loudly.
She buried her face into her pillow with a groan of horror. She could still hear it in her head—her own voice crying Selene's name like it was sacred. She'd said please. She'd said harder. She'd said more.
She whimpered again.
No one heard her.
God, she hoped no one heard her.
But what if Selene had?
The thought made her squeeze her eyes shut in mortification. Her entire face was hot—flushed red from temple to collarbone. Her body wouldn't stop twitching.
Aria threw the covers off, forcing herself upright.
Her thighs were sticky.
Her sheets were ruined.
She needed to shower. Now.
She practically ran to the en suite bathroom, turned on the coldest water she could stand, and stepped under the icy stream with a hiss. Her nipples were still hard. Her core still pulsed, throbbing faintly in defiance of the cold.
It was humiliating.
Infuriating.
And yet—
Even under the freezing spray, she couldn't stop thinking about it.
About her.
Could Selene really make her come like that?
Could she unravel her body the way her dream had?
Selene hadn't touched her—not in real life. Not like that.
Not with her fingers. Not with her tongue. Not even her body.
But in the dream…
In the dream, she had.
Selene hadn't even touched her in the last session. Hadn't used fingers. Just her presence. Her voice. The toy. In her dream…
And Aria had shattered.
Just thinking about it made her knees weaken.
She steadied herself against the tile, exhaling shakily.
Selene had dominated every inch of her—just with her voice, her presence, and the cruel promise of control. She had used nothing but words and slow, deliberate pressure. And Aria had shattered.
It wasn't real.
But her body didn't care.
Just remembering it made her knees buckle slightly.
She steadied herself against the tile, exhaling shakily.
Her hand drifted downward.
She stopped herself.
Barely.
No. Don't.
Selene had said she belonged to her now.
That she would only come when told.
She had promised.
And the idea of disobeying…
It thrilled her.
But it also scared her.
Would Selene know?
Would she feel it?
Would she see it in her body language, smell it on her skin, taste the guilt on her breath?
Aria swallowed.
No. She couldn't risk it.
She shivered, but not from the cold.
She turned off the water, still pulsing with desire, and wrapped herself in a towel. Her legs trembled slightly as she dried off. Everything was hyper-sensitive. Her skin remembered too much. Her lips were tender. Her thighs ached.
She returned to the bedroom wearing only a large shirt and her smallest pair of underwear. No bra. She couldn't stand the friction.
The ruined sheets were balled up in the hamper. She would deal with them later.
For now, she crawled into fresh covers and pulled her knees up to her chest.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
She had wanted romance.
Slow kisses.
Gentle exploration.
But what Selene gave her—what she awakened in her—wasn't gentle.
It was control.
It was madness.
It was…hers.
Aria touched her lips, still tingling. She remembered the dream. The leash. The collar. The look in Selene's eyes as she made her come without mercy. As she whispered filth into her ear.
Would it really feel the same?
Would Selene's tongue feel just as devastating?
Would she kneel between her thighs and make her forget her name?
Aria whimpered.
What the hell was happening to her?
She hadn't even had her first kiss with Selene.
Not really.
Not a romantic one.
And yet here she was—dreaming about sitting on Selene's face, sobbing from pleasure, begging to be used.
It made no sense.
It made too much sense.
Selene had this grip on her—this invisible chain wrapped tight around her waist and throat. Emotional and sexual. Psychological.
Selene didn't have to touch her to own her.
She already did.
Aria didn't know when it started. Maybe it was the night of the banquet. Maybe it was even before—when Selene whispered in the dark and looked at her like she was something precious and breakable.
But now?
Now she didn't just want Selene.
She craved her.
And not just in her bed.
In her mind.
In her soul.
The submission wasn't just physical.
It was emotional.
Selene could look at her once and she'd fall apart.
Could call her little one in that low, possessive tone and Aria would melt on the spot.
"You're mine now."
Selene had said that.
Softly. As if it were an unchangeable fact.
And the worst part?
Aria hadn't fought it.
She hadn't wanted to.
She liked it.
She wanted to be someone's.
To be hers.
To be held in those cold arms and bent until she didn't remember her own name—only the commands whispered into her ear.
Only the orders she was desperate to obey.
A knock at the door startled her.
She bolted upright, eyes wide.
"Aria," came Selene's calm, velvety voice. "Breakfast."
Aria froze.
Her heart leapt into her throat.
Had she heard?
Had she known?
She scrambled to answer, voice slightly too high. "Coming!"
No response.
She waited ten seconds, breathing hard.
Then slipped out of bed and into a robe.
Her legs were still unsteady.
But not from sleep.
From longing.
From denial.
From everything Selene was awakening in her—piece by piece.
She stood in front of the mirror for a moment and looked at herself.
Her lips were still flushed.
Her eyes wide.
She didn't look like the same Aria anymore.
She looked…
Tamed.
But not broken.
Just shaped.
By Selene's hands.
By Selene's words.
By Selene's silence.
She whispered to herself before opening the door.
"I'll be good."
She didn't even know if she meant at breakfast—or in general.
But either way—
It was already too late.
She belonged to her now.
And part of her… was starting to like it.